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Why Small Businesses are Making the Massive Move to the Cloud

Significant Savings From Cloud Migration

According to a report at Intuit, the company who brought us Turbo Tax, nearly 80% of small businesses will have fully adapted to cloud computing by 2020. For small businesses operating with limited budgets one of the most obvious benefits driving the move to the cloud is reduced IT costs. Virtualization with the cloud means businesses can maximize existing hardware, allowing them to do more with less. IT savings are realized in several ways including:

Reduction in required rack space

Decrease in power usage

Lower IT requirements for maintenance and installation

Reduced costs for upgrades and tech support

Eliminate the recurring need to purchase new software

Reducing cost is a fundamental motivator for any savvy business owner, but a recent report at Business.com might be the tipping point for those still on the fence about migrating their small business to the cloud.

Small Businesses Double Profits by Switching to the Cloud

Business.com reported in 2017 on the results of a study by software company Exact in collaboration with PB7 Research. Beyond savings in IT cost, the study showed surprising results for companies that adopted the cloud. Not only did they double profit margins but these companies increased revenue growth by 25%. Bear in mind that these represent the overall average results. Many companies reaped an even larger return on investment after moving to the cloud.

So how did the cloud work its magic to achieve these incredible numbers?

Increased Productivity With the Cloud

Accessibility

The days of one computer-one server are far behind for businesses who have adopted versatile cloud technology. Employees have the ability to access information and software anytime and anywhere, using their favorite devices. Adding mobility so employees can achieve productive results in or out of the office has a significant positive effect on the bottom line.

Versatility

In any successful business growth happens. The cloud allows a business to expand application resources and data storage capabilities without the need for heavy investment in on-premise hardware and the human resources needed to keep them online. Conversely, in the case of a downturn in the economic cycle, a business doesn't find itself covering the cost of idle resources.

Scalability in the cloud allows the increase (or reduction) of the virtual machine capacity created to handle business applications. When required, a "scale-up" ( scaling vertically) can be achieved by increasing the size of the virtual machine. Another option would be to "scale out" (scaling horizontally) where additional virtual machines are created to divide the increased load between them.

This versatility gave rise to the term "computing on demand". The cloud's virtual machine concept opened the doors to super-computing for machine learning and artificial intelligence development by independent tech companies who couldn't otherwise access the massive computer resources required for these endeavors.

Cloud Security

Skepticism concerning security on the cloud may have deterred some small businesses from making the move in the past, but cloud providers have long since responded to the issue. "Secure Cloud is no Longer an Oxymoron" is the title of a 2017 Business.com article. The article points out that these days security doesn't need to be a major concern as long as executives put the effort into choosing appropriate architecture and security options, as well as vetting potential vendors.

Small Businesses Go Head-to-Head With Major Corporations

Cloud platforms and plug-in services can allow small businesses to reach markets once accessible to only major corporations, according to the Intuit study. The study cites as an example AirBnB which provides a community infrastructure that allows individuals to access a mass market.

With significant IT savings, doubled profits, increased revenue, enhanced security, and expanding strategic opportunities for small businesses, the question small business executives are asking now is "How soon can we move to the cloud?"

At Total Computer Solutions, we know that a company's network infrastructure is only as strong as its support, and we provide trusted, timely service and support for any scenario. Still wanting advice on the benefits of the Cloudand how to protect data stored there? TCS can guide you in the right direction with no obligation, just fill out our form here give us a call at (336) 804-8449.